Report of the Poliomyelitis Committee of the Medical Association of the District of Columbia : epidemic 1910.

  • Washington State Medical Association. Poliomyelitis Committee.
Date:
1911
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Report of the Poliomyelitis Committee of the Medical Association of the District of Columbia : epidemic 1910. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The University of Glasgow Library. The original may be consulted at The University of Glasgow Library.

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    most frequently are irritability, 100; restlessness, 69; apathy, 50; with a marked tendency to various digestive disturbances, though the latter are by no means constant. Pain as a prodrome is not frequent and seems to be more generalized than local. Catarrhal conditions of the respiratory mucous membranes are conspicuous by their absence. Duration of Prodromes.—1 hour, 2; 18 hours, 2; several hours, 1; 1 day, 12; 2 days, 9; 3 days, 8; 4 days, 12; 5 days, 2; 6 days, 1; several (or a few) days, 39; 1 week, 11; 2 weeks, 7; 3 weeks, 2; 4 weeks, 1. Prodromes.—Fever, 27; headache (frontal, 1; occipital, 1), 14; irritability, 100; restlessness, 69; apathy, 50; muscular twitching, 19; sweating, 14. Pain—neck, 2 ; back, 4; muscular, 3 ; abdomen, 2; feet, 1; extremities, 2; joints, 1; unspecified, 1—16. Consti- pation, 15; diarrhoea, 6; nausea, 5; vomiting, 10; anorexia, 6; coated tongue, 2; foul breath. 1; gastric indigestion, 1; intestinal indigestion, 2 ; gastro-enteritis, 1; tympanites, 1; unspecified, 5 ; malaise (including indisposition and languor), 9; sleepiness, 2; vertigo. 1 ; insomnia, 1; delirium, 1; convulsions, 2; coma, 2; photophobia, 2; stupor, 6; chills (single, 1; multiple, 1; unspeci- fied, 1), 3; scanty urine, 1; weak bladder, 1; general weakness, 4. Prodromes stated to be absent in, 27. Mode of Onset.—The most constant symptom of onset is fever, 181. Next in order come headache 57, vomiting 78, constipation 32, diarrhoea 23, prostration 35, restlessness 27, malaise 20, apathy 17. Pain is usual 102, especially in the legs 26, and back 29. Less frequent are convulsions 11, delirium 9, loss of conscious- ness, partial or complete, 18. In 11 cases the onset was char- acterized by chill. Retraction of the head was not infrequent 21, and muscular rigidity 9, opisthotonos 4, and stiflfness of the neck, back or legs 6, were noted. It is interesting to note that the onset was sudden in a large proportion of cases 47, and that sudden paralysis without any preliminary warning occurred in 13. There is a sur])rising lack of frequency of associated inflammation of the respiratory mucous membranes and throat 10, especially as this feature was put as a leading question on the blanks sent out b^ the committee for the report of cases. Mode of Onset.—Fever, 181; headache, 57; anorexia. 14; nausea, 49; vomiting, 78; diarrhoea, 23; constipation, 32; di- gestive disturbances, 48; tympanites, 3; abdominal pain, 11; foul stools, 1. Pain—Legs, 26; knees, 2; back, 29 ; foot, 1 ; neck, 6; unspecified, 11; joints, 6 ; general muscular, 21; total, 102. Weak- ness—Legs, 2; neck, 1 ; spine, 2; unspecified, 4; total. 9; malaise, 20; irritability or restlessness, 27; insomnia, 4; fatigue, 1; ner- vousness, 1; drowsiness, 3; apathy, 17; vertigo, 1; tremor, 1 ; muscular twitching, 5; delirium, 9; convulsions, 11; coma, 6;